Family businesses on brink after inheritance tax crackdown November 19, 2025 The damage wrought by the Chancellor’s inheritance tax crackdown on family firms has been laid bare by fresh research that found over a third are on the brink of closure before the end of the parliament. A poll of family business owners found nearly two thirds of the UK’s 4.8m family businesses are worried about [...]
Holly Willoughby’s company survives HMRC tax battle November 19, 2025 A media company run by TV presenter Holly Willoughby has survived the latest round of a tax battle with HMRC. Roxy Media was facing a winding-up petition in the Insolvency and Companies Court over a tax debt reported to total £377,000. The petition, a serious statement of intent by a creditor to shut down a [...]
TikTok wants you to stop doomscrolling (on its own app) November 19, 2025 TikTok has spent years perfecting the dark art of keeping you glued to your phone, but now it wants to help you put the phone down. In a move that feels almost existential, the company announced on Wednesday the rollout of a new so-called ‘Time and Well‑Being’ centre designed to help people step away from [...]
Keir Starmer remains tight-lipped on stealth tax U-turn November 19, 2025 Keir Starmer refused to rule out introducing tax hikes on British workers despite being challenged on past commitments to unfreeze tax thresholds from 2028. Starmer attempted to deflect opposition leader Kemi Badenoch’s questions as she recited comments he and the Chancellor had made over the last year on pledges not to extend a freeze on [...]
Interactive Investor abandons retail campaign in fresh blow to Rachel Reeves November 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to increase investment in the UK stock market has been hit with a fresh blow, as Britain’s second largest retail investment platform pulls out of the government backed marketing campaign. Interactive Investor, which is owned by London listed investment manager Aberdeen, has become the latest well known name to abandon the [...]
Uplift in patrols: West End businesses fund major Christmas crime crackdown November 19, 2025 The largest single private-sector investment in enhanced security and policing in London’s West End was launched, involving over 600 businesses in the busy section of the capital. Operation West End, an initiative from the New West End Company, which represents over 600 West End businesses, including on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, works [...]
Autumn Budget: BrewDog boss issues £1bn warning to Rachel Reeves November 19, 2025 The hospitality sector needs to sell almost one million extra pints every hour in order to cope with a £1bn cost surge thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, the chief executive of BrewDog has warned. James Taylor, who took on the job earlier this year, said Reeves needs to take ‘meaningful action’ because of [...]
Arsenal praised for ‘Big Club’ move after ending Visit Rwanda partnership November 19, 2025 Arsenal fans have welcomed the club’s decision to end a controversial eight-year partnership with Visit Rwanda at the end of this season. The Premier League leaders had been in talks to extend the deal, which sees Rwanda’s tourism arm displayed on the team’s sleeves, beyond the current campaign. But both parties have now decided to [...]
Reeves’ Budget will fail to rescue public finances, top bank predicts November 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ upcoming Budget will not live up to market hopes of fiscal caution nor will it solve problems around high government expenditure, analysts at a leading City bank have warned. Reeves has said she intends to build a larger fiscal buffer than £9.9bn in order to “absorb shocks” next week while the Budget [...]
Fans support Independent Football Regulator but unsure on remit November 19, 2025 The majority of fans back the new Independent Football Regulator but are divided on its remit, a new study has shown. Sport’s latest quango, the Independent Football Regulator, is up and running with a remit to make the English game more sustainable. Early plans suggest the regulator could have the power to force the sale [...]